Poland's 'Upside Down House', Sunderbans for this Durga Puja

As Kolkata transforms into a giant carnival for the Durga Puja, gear up to answer the call of the wild and the bizarre from lands near distant at some of the marquees here.

In Kolkata, there are around 2,470 community pujas and 5,000 family pujas. Each year, organisers come up with innovative themes and try to better their previous attempts.

Resembling the 'Upside Down House' of Poland's Szymbark village, a puja committee in the satellite township of Salt Lake is all set to give visitors a topsy-turvy experience.

"While the idol is traditional, the marquee and the mandap (worship area) are replica of the inverted cottage, a popular tourist destination in Poland," Sourav Saha, a member of Salt Lake's BF Block Puja Committee, told IANS Monday.

Once inaugurated Tuesday, pandal-hoppers can walk inside the structure to find furniture hanging from the ceiling.

"While we couldn't give the finishing touch properly inside the marquee due to lack of time, we have managed to show tables and showcases hanging from the top," Saha said.

At Sanghashree Club puja, the Sunderbans mangrove forests have been recreated with models of Royal Bengal tiger, crocodiles, snakes and crabs ringed with mangrove flora and fauna, interspersed with creeks.

The organisers have tied up with WWF-India, West Bengal's forest and Sunderbans affairs department to generate awareness about tiger and Sunderbans conservation.

"We have obtained CCTV footage from the core area of the tiger reserve in the mangroves, used during tiger census, to showcase the forests," Koushik Guha, general secretary of the puja committee, told IANS.

"The videos will be streamed in the background while models of animals, flora and scenes of fishermen and narrative of Bonbibi (deity of Sunderbans) are part of the ambiance," said Guha.

The puja will be inaugurated Monday and organisers used a tram to spread the word about the endeavour, in sync with the theme of conservation.